Australia has secured three shipments of jet fuel from China, and more are expected in the coming months as Australia is scrambling to ensure its fuel supply amid the global crunch, and one of its only two refineries is out of operation due to a fire.
Australia and China have held high-level discussions, including with the Prime Minister and China’s Premier, in which the Australian federal government secured three shipments of jet fuel, totaling more than 600,000 barrels, Australia said on Tuesday.
“These cargoes from China are a first step, and we are working to ensure there will be more to come, to keep our aircraft flying, including to rural and regional areas,” Australia’s top officials noted.
Australia has also secured another 38,500 tons of agricultural-grade urea from Brunei, which adds to the fertilizer and fuel that have been secured through the Albanese Labor Government’s AUS$7.5 billion (US$5.35 billion) Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility, designed to help Australia’s agriculture and transport industries manage the impacts of the conflict in the Middle East.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, commented that “Australia is working with countries in our region to respond to this unprecedented shock to the global economy and ensure the continued flow of essential fuels.”
Despite the fact that it is a major gas and LNG producer, Australia relies on imports for most of its transportation fuel supply. The situation became worse after a fire broke out at one of the only two refineries in the country. Viva Energy’s Corio oil refinery in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, which caught fire in the middle of April, will not restart some units until June.
At the end of March, the government halved the fuel excise on gasoline and diesel for three months in a bid to alleviate financial stress from spiking fuel prices.
The Federal Government in April said it had secured approximately 100 million liters of additional diesel, with two shipments coming from Brunei and South Korea. This was the first of the expected shipments of fuel secured under the Government’s new Strategic Reserve powers.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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